Come What May
by Poison Ivy1
Summary: Sam Bennett wakes up in the world of the Moulin Rouge. What does he have to go through before he can get out?
1. The Moulin What?

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! "It's Karaoke Time" is currently on hold, seeing as how my writer's block on that hasn't gotten any better. For now, I'm going to concentrate on this story. Don't be surprised if later I post a completely different version of this story, I have so many ideas going through my head when I'm writing this and I can never decide which one to go with. Right now, it's this one. 

WARNING: If you haven't seen "Moulin Rouge," first go out the theaters and see it, because trust me, it's completely and totally worth it. If you haven't seen it, go see it then come back to read this story (it obviously contains spoilers for the movie). Also, picture Dalton James playing Hank in here. 

Disclaimer: The movie "Moulin Rouge" and its characters belongs to Baz Luhrmann and 20th Century Fox. "Passions" and its characters belong to NBC and JER(k). I'll give them back when I'm done with them. Who knows when that is :P. 

FEEDBACK!!!!!!! 

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Come What May  
Prologue 

"No, Sam, I don't want to talk to you right now." The pure hurt mixed with bitterness and anger tore at his heart. Why was Ivy so upset, and what made her decide to give him up?  
  
"Maybe if you talked about it, whatever's bothering you would go away," Sam suggested.  
  
"Go away?!" Ivy repeated with shock. "Trust me, nothing will make this go away."  
  
"What's bothering you so much?" Sam asked again.  
  
"Dammit, Sam! Get the hell away from me and just leave me alone!" she cried, the tears starting to fall again.  
  
He sighed, not wanting to turn away from her. "Just one question."  
  
Ivy rolled her eyes. "What now?"  
  
"What made you give me up?"  
  
Now it was her turn to sigh. "You love Grace. Enough said. Now please, just go away."  
  
Sam turned around and began walking away from her. Unfortunately, he didn't see the large beam right ahead of him. He heard Ivy yell, "Sam, watch out!" to him and then everything went black… 

Chapter 1 

Montmartre, Paris, 1899 

Sam Bennett sat up in a very hard, uncomfortable bed. "What was that?" he wondered aloud. "Where am I?" He stood up and his feet hit hard, cold wood. He was in a tiny, one-room apartment in a large city. The building directly outside his window had a large windmill on top of it. "Moulin Rouge," Sam read off of the building. "Isn't that the movie that the girls have seen three times?" He picked up the newspaper on a small table where a typewriter also sat. "Paris? 1899??" He dropped the paper in shock. "Why the hell am I in Paris in 1899?" He threw some of the tattered clothes that were in the room on and quickly attempted to make himself look presentable. "Where's Ivy? I was just talking to her…Where are Grace, Kay and everyone else? What the hell is going on?"  
  
As if things couldn't get any worse, an unconscious man crashed through his ceiling. The man looked eerily familiar to Sam. "Luis?" Sam moved closer to the man and shook him. "Luis? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh no, he did it again!" Another man, a dwarf dressed as a nun appeared at Sam's door. "Timmy's sorry for the inconvenience. Luis is always falling asleep at the most inappropriate times."  
  
"Aren't you Tabitha's doll?" Sam asked in disbelief.  
  
"No, I'm Henri Timmy-Lautrec," the dwarf said and extended his hand. "Timmy's never heard of any Tabitha."  
  
"Timmy, how is he?" Three men appeared at the top of the hole in the ceiling. They looked familiar as well.  
  
"Hank? Miguel? Ethan?" Sam was extremely confused and his head hurt like a beast.  
  
"Luis's fine," Timmy told them.  
  
"Who's going to read his part in the play now?" the one who looked like Hank asked.  
  
All eyes went to Sam. 

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Before he could say or do anything, Sam was dressed in a shepherd from Switzerland's clothes, standing on a stool that was supposed to make him look like he was in the mountains. The play, Spectacular Spectacular, was to be shown at the Moulin Rouge theater. Timmy, who was the nun in the story, was attempting to sing a song that the flamboyant group had written themselves.  
  
"The hills are vital with the noise of singing…" Timmy sang. To Sam, and it appeared the rest of the group, the song didn't quite make sense or seem to fit.  
  
"Cut!" the Ethan lookalike yelled. "This isn't working."  
  
"Well, what does Ethan want Timmy to sing?" Timmy asked, fed up with the interruptions.  
  
"The hills—" Sam started as the group began to argue.  
  
"The mountains are vigorous with the chords-" Miguel suggested.  
  
"The hills—" Sam tried again, but no one was listening.  
  
"No!" Hank shouted. "The uplands are energetic with the tone of melodies!"  
  
The group began to shout at each other as Sam remained on the stool, eager to get his idea out to everyone else.  
  
"The hills are alive with the sound of music," Sam sang in a projected, rich baritone that got the men's attention.  
  
Hank, Ethan, Timmy and Miguel looked at each other and nodded. "Timmy likes it," Timmy said.  
  
"With songs they have sung for a thousand years," Sam continued singing.  
  
At that moment, Luis, who had been unconscious before, climbed up the ladder where the men stood. "Luis!" Miguel exclaimed. "Did you hear what Sam just sang?"  
  
"I like it!" Luis declared.  
  
"I say that Sam writes this play," Hank suggested.  
  
"Thanks, bro, but isn't Miguel?" Sam asked.  
  
"Bro?" Hank asked. 

"Yeah, brother," Sam explained, then the reality of his situation set in. "Oh no, you're not my brother, are you?" 

"Not that I know of," Hank said "But back to the writing, Miguel, you wouldn't mind, would you?"  
  
"Excuse me!" Miguel said pompously. "Absolutely not!" He stormed out and was never heard from again.  
  
Timmy shrugged. "Oh well. Hey Sam, Timmy, Luis, Ethan and Hank have a meeting tonight in the Moulin Rouge with Ivy, the star of our play. Sam should come and meet Ivy."  
  
"Ivy," Sam repeated to himself. Then he realized what they were asking him to do. "No, I couldn't." He began to walk down the ladder to his room.  
  
"Sam, wait!" Timmy called. "Doesn't Sam want to be a part of this revolution?"  
  
"Revolution?" Sam asked. "No, I'm no revolutionary."  
  
"Do you believe in truth?" Ethan asked.  
  
"Yes, of course," Sam answered.  
  
"Beauty?" Timmy said.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Freedom?" Hank questioned.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Love?" Luis finally brought up.  
  
"Love," Sam stated softly.  
  
"Yes, love," Luis emphasized.  
  
"Above all things, love," Sam answered and was surprised by what he was saying. "Love is like oxygen, love is a many splendored thing, love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love."  
  
"Then Sam can be one of us!" Timmy said excitedly.  
  
"Off to the Moulin Rouge!" Hank exclaimed.  
  
"Welcome, Sam. Tonight you can borrow my suit and jacket," Luis offered before he fell down, unconscious again.  
  
So that night they all met and were off to the majestic, mysterious Moulin Rouge. 

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Once again, I crave feedback!!!


	2. Ivy, the Sparkling Diamond

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! I know that I promised this chapter for last Saturday, but I ended up at guard practice for four hours in the afternoon and seeing MR again that night ;). I was going to put this up yesterday, but I was out of town and then when I sat down to write it, it suddenly became really hard to capture the atmosphere of this particular part of the movie, even though it's one of my favorites. So bear with me, please. Thank you so much! 

Same standard, don't read if you haven't seen Moulin Rouge, but if you haven't see it, you'll love it! Don't own characters from either MR or Passions, so don't sue me because I'm spending all my money on this movie. 

Feedback!!! 

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Ivy quickly checked her appearance in the mirror in her dressing room. Backstage at the Moulin Rouge, girls were running around preparing for that night's crowd. She was known as the most beautiful of all the courtesans in Paris and was a sight for sore eyes every night. Age and experience had only improved her technique and increased her popularity. In the past, she had had her fair share of men and clients, but had never even considered love. In the world of the courtesan, love was out of the question. There were men to tease and customers to please, Harold Zidler had once told her. She couldn't wait to escape this place and become a real, true performer on the stage. Hopefully, tonight's meeting with the Duke of Worcester would help secure her fate.  
"Come on, Ivy, we gotta go out there," another girl, Sheridan, called to her. Ivy did one last lookover in her mirror and climbed the stairs up to the swing where she would descend onto the dance floor that night. On her way up, she heard Sheridan groan, "Why does SHE get the glory and we get squat?" 

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Sam, Hank, Ethan, Luis and Timmy sat at a booth on the outer edges of the dance floor and watched the girls dance as Harold Zidler led his famous band on the balcony. "It's confirmed. After tonight's performance, Sam will meet Ivy in the elephant outside," Timmy explained. "Completely and totally alone."  
"Why does he talk in third person?" Sam whispered to Hank.  
"Don't know," Hank answered.  
"So when's Ivy going to come out?" Sam asked impatiently.  
"Soon," Ethan answered.  
"She's something else," Luis told him with a grin, "but I prefer that spunky one, Sheridan."  
"Sheridan?" Hank asked. "I told you I had first dibs on her if something were to happen."  
"Whatever," Luis said. "Anyway, you wouldn't believe what Ivy does."  
"I bet I won't," Sam said.  
"That's Sheridan, right there," Luis explained and pointed to one of Zidler's "Diamond Dogs." "She's the next best one to Ivy."  
All of Zidler's girls looked strangely familiar. Sam swore that he saw not only Sheridan, but also Rebecca, Gwen, Whitney, Theresa and even Kay. He grinned to himself. "Where's a camcorder when you need one?" he muttered to himself and continued to wait for Ivy. 

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In the booth behind the men, Julian Crane, the Duke of Worcester, was anticipating the same thing that Sam was. "Ah, that delicious little specimen Ivy," Julian said to his manservant and sighed. "Forget about financing this place into a 'real theatre'—I want that pastry!"  
Zidler came out to talk to Julian. "Sir, it's confirmed. After tonight's performance, you'll meet Ivy in the elephant outside. Completely and totally alone."  
As if on cue, the lights dimmed and a velvet swing was lowered. A beautiful blonde was lowered from the ceiling. "The French are glad to die for love," she sang in a sultry voice as the men went wild. "They delight in fighting duels. But I prefer a man who lives and gives expensive jewels."  
Sam could only stare. THIS was Ivy? She looked and sounded just like the Ivy back in Harmony, but he could never see her doing this. She was dressed in a sparkling silver tank leotard and a top hat with a silver band around it. Around the waistband of her leotard was a fringe skirt and underneath it she wore fishnet hose and high-heeled silver shoes.  
"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend," she sang as she swung around atop the crowd. "A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you at the automat."  
"Wow," Sam said under his breath. He couldn't help but feel envious of all the men on the floor that she was lavishing attention on, but figured that he would get his turn later.  
"What did Timmy tell you?" Timmy said, interrupting his thoughts. "Ivy's the sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rouge. And SAM gets to have a private meeting with her later!"  
"I can't wait," Sam remarked, still in a trance over Ivy.  
"Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end," Ivy continued, keeping the audience wanting more. "But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape, diamonds are a girl's best friend."  
Ivy got off of the swing and walked around the crowd as men offered her diamonds, flowers and everything a good performer deserved. She was so sick of this act, though. She wished that she could fall in love just once, one time, just to know what it was like. "Tiffany's! Cartier!" She picked one man and sang, "'Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl." She grinned. "Come and get me, boys," she teased as they lifted her off the floor. Zidler joined her on the floor. "Talk to me, Harold Zidler, tell me all about it!"  
Sam smiled at the "Material Girl" reference. "So it's all their fault?" he asked himself.  
"There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer, but diamonds are a girl's best friend," she sang while she and Zidler were dancing on a platform. "There may come a time when a hard-boiled employer thinks you're awful nice, but get that ice or else no dice." The other girls – Sheridan, Rebecca, Theresa and Whitney – sang the next part: "He's your guy when stocks are high but beware when they start to descend."  
Ivy and Zidler tried to converse amongst the noise on the floor. "Is the duke here?" Ivy asked.  
"Yes, he's the one Timmy's shaking a hanky at," Zidler told her. At that point, Timmy had been shaking a hanky in Julian's face.  
But when Ivy saw Timmy, he was shaking it at a Sam's face. THAT was the duke? She thought. No, he was too good-looking to be an old, rich royal looking to buy a theater. "Are you sure?" she asked Zidler in disbelief.  
Zidler looked over her shoulder. Once again, Timmy was with Julian. "Yes it is," he confirmed. "Let's hope Timmy doesn't scare him off."  
Ivy turned to see Timmy again. He was with the same young, handsome man she had seen before. Their eyes locked for a moment and Ivy thought that she saw recognition in the duke's eyes. Turning jher attention back to the dancing. The can-can dancers lifted up their skirts, forming a wall around her and Zidler. "Will he invest?" she asked as she prepared for a split-second costume change.  
"After a night with you?" Zidler asked. "How could he refuse?"  
She grinned. "What's his type? Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smoldering temptress?" She acted out each of the personas for Zidler to help him decide.  
"I'd say smoldering temptress," he told Ivy. "Just think, sparrow. After tonight, we'll have a real theater, a real show and you'll be—"  
"A real actress," Ivy finished, her voice filled with hope. They popped back out of the shadow of the dancers and she finished her number. " 'Cause that's when those louses go back to their spouses, diamonds are a girl's best friend." While singing the crescendo at the end of the verse, she walked over to Sam's table. "I believe you are expecting me," she told him in a low, seductive voice.  
"Y-yes, I am," Sam stuttered out as his friends congratulated him.  
She winked at him and turned back to the crowd. "I'm afraid it's lady's choice," she announced and held her hand out to Sam. Sam didn't accept at first, mostly out of shock. She pretended to pout and began doing a dance in front of him to convince him. Finally, Luis and Hank pushed Sam to her and they danced to the background music.  
"So wonderful of you to take an interest in our little show," Ivy told him while dancing.  
"It sounds very exciting. I'd be delighted," Sam said. "Timmy thought that we might be able to do it in private."  
Ivy suddenly stopped, thinking that he meant what she did. "Did he?"  
"Yes, you know, a private poetry reading," Sam explained.  
She smiled. "A POETRY reading? Ooh, I loooooove a little poet, how they have to suffer!" The dance was almost over. "Throw up your hat!" she told him as he did.  
Mounting the swing after Sam went back to his seat, she finished her set. "Diamonds, diamonds," the song then went into fermata, "are a girl's best—" Suddenly she couldn't find the strength to take in the final breath. She gasped a few times before falling off the swing and a man who looked like Chad to Sam caught her.  
Sam couldn't help but be incredibly concerned for her. 1899 or not, she was still Ivy and despite what she had told him in Harmony—or what she didn't tell him—he was still worried about her. As he watched the Chad lookalike take Ivy backstage, he said a silent prayer for her. 

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Lemme know what you think! Also, are the song lyrics better like I had them in "It's Karaoke Time" or in here? Thanks! 

~*Maggie*~


	3. Your Song

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! This is one of the funniest parts of the movie and one of my favorite parts, and I doubt that everything's perfect. I'm constantly LMAO during it! Enjoy! 

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As Chad carried Ivy backstage, Sheridan and Rebecca watched. Sheridan smirked. "Don't know that duke's gettin' his money's worth tonight."  
  
"Don't be unkind, Sheridan!" Rebecca scolded as they followed Chad.  
  
Chad laid Ivy down on the floor backstage and her mother figure, Pilar, came in. Sheridan, Rebecca and the other girls hovered over them with concern. Harold then came in. "Is everything all right?" one of the stagehands asked.  
  
"Nothing that you need be worried about," Pilar snapped.  
  
"Come along, girls!" Harold shouted. "Get back out there and make those gents thirsty!" The girls grudgingly left and went back to the dance floor.  
  
Ivy coughed and finally came to. "Pilar," she said gratefully. "All these silly costumes…" She went into another coughing fit and Pilar held a handkerchief up to her mouth. When Ivy was done coughing, Pilar and Harold looked at what was on the handkerchief.  
  
It was stained with blood.  
  
Pilar and Harold looked at each other worriedly. "Pilar? Harold? Is everything okay?" Ivy asked.  
  
Pilar managed to smile. "Of course. Let's go get you ready for that duke." As she led Ivy out, she turned back to Harold, as if to say "What should we do?" He shrugged and went back out.

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In her dressing room, Pilar helped Ivy into her stunning red dress. "There you are. You look gorgeous," she told Ivy.  
  
"Do you think I'll really become a famous actress?" Ivy asked with hope.  
  
"I don't see why not," Pilar told her. "You've got the talent. Just show the duke what you've got tonight and everything will be perfect."  
  
"I can't wait," Ivy said. "Finally, I'm going to fly away from here."  
  
"How is everything going?" Harold asked as he came in.  
  
"How do I look?" Ivy inquired as she struck a pose. "Smoldering temptress?"  
  
"Oh, my little strawberry!" Harold grinned as he ran over to hug Ivy. "Everything's going so well!" 

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Sam waited for Ivy in the elephant. Timmy said that she would be here. Just as he was getting impatient, he heard a seductive, "Is this poetic enough for you?" He turned around to find a scantily-clad Ivy staring at him.  
  
"It-it'll do," he stammered.  
  
"All right," she said and moved to the small table in the extravagantly decorated room. "Some light supper for you?" she asked.  
  
"Actually, I'd rather just get it over and done with," Sam told her, meaning his poetry reading. He had never thought of himself as a writer, much less a poet, but she had that kind of power.  
  
Ivy slammed down the bottle of champagne in surprise. "Hmm," she said. "Very well then." Moving to the bed, she suggested, "Why don't you come lie down and we'll—get it over and done with." She thought that he meant was she was thinking.  
  
"I—I prefer to do it standing," Sam told her. "It's quite long what I'd do, and I'd like you to be comfortable." Her eyed widened with shock. What kind of a guy was this duke? "It's also very modern, and it may feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but if you're open I think you'll like it."  
  
"I'm sure I will," Ivy told him.  
  
"Okay," he sighed and looked for inspiration. "The—no, no."  
  
"Mmmm," she moaned in pleasure.  
  
A bit distracted by Ivy, he attempted to continue. "The hill—no, no, never mind." She continued to act as if he wanted to sleep with her. "Come on," he told himself and blew air to get himself to think. "Come on, come on…"  
  
Ivy threw her hands down on the bed in frustration. "Um, is everything all right?" she asked.  
  
"I'm fine, but sometimes it takes a while for inspiration to come," he told her.  
  
"Oh, well let mommy help," she offered and grabbed his crotch. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Does that **inspire** you?"  
  
"Wha—" Sam began, but was cut off by Ivy.  
  
"Let's make love," she demanded.  
  
"What the—" Sam said.  
  
"You want to make love, don't you?" she asked as she threw them onto the bed and worked on his shirt and jacket.  
  
Above them, Hank, Luis and Ethan lowered Timmy so that he could see into the window. Ivy reached his pants and she grinned. "Big boy!"  
  
"He's got a huge—talent!" Timmy screamed up to them.  
  
Sam thought of the first song that came to his head. "It's a little bit funny," Sam said and threw her off of him, "this feeling inside." He thought of the words to the song and continued. "I'm not one of those who can easily hide." He stopped reciting for a moment and looked at her. "Is—is this okay? Is this what you want?"  
  
"Yes, yes, poetry, yes," she sighed. "Dirty words, yes!"  
  
He tried not to let himself get distracted by her throwing herself around the floor. "I don't have much money, but boy if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live. If I were a sculptor, but then again no, or a man who makes potions in the traveling show. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do."  
  
Ivy continued thrashing around on the floor. "My gift is my song," he sang out as he looked out the window. She stopped and looked up at him as he turned around to face her. "And this one's for you." She smiled as he kept singing. "And you can tell everybody that this is your song. It may be quite simple, but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words," he paused and drew in another breath, "how wonderful life is, now you're in the world."  
  
She stood up and faced him. "Sat on the roof, and I kicked off the moss," he sang as he took her hands. "Well some of these verses, well they, they've got me quite cross." Their eyes met. "But the sun's been quite kind, while I wrote this song. It's for people like you that keep it turned on." 

Ivy moved away from Sam and to the large window. "So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do. See, I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue," he sang on. "But anyway, the thing is, what I really mean, yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen." He swept her up and they danced around the elephant. She imagined them dancing across the skyline of Paris, from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. He spun her around and he climbed up the tower. "And you can tell everybody, this is your song," he sang from the top. "It may be quite simple, but now that it's done," she spun back to him, "I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words," he spun her around in his arms, "how wonderful life is, now you're in the world. I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words," he held her for a moment, "how wonderful life is, now you're in the world." He twirled her and when he got the chance, he picked her up in his arms.  
  
Suddenly they were back dancing in the elephant. Ivy grinned. "I can't believe it. I'm in love," she said almost sincerely. "I'm in love with a young, handsome, talented duke."  
  
"Duke?" Sam asked.  
  
"Not that the title's important," she assured him.  
  
"I'm not a duke," he said softly.  
  
Suddenly the moment was ruined. "N—not a duke?" Ivy asked.  
  
"No, I'm a writer," Sam told her.  
  
Her jaw dropped. "A WRITER?" she said. She moved out of Sam's arms.  
  
"Oh no, let me guess, Timmy sent you here," she said.  
  
"He said that you were expecting me," Sam told her.  
  
"I am going to KILL HIM!!" she screamed.  
  
"Oh no!" Timmy exclaimed. "Something happened. Ivy's going to kill Timmy!"  
  
"So you're one of Timmy's friends," she said. "Let's see, tragically Bohemian, hopelessy romantic, sadly impoverished…"  
  
"Well, if you want to put it that way," Sam said.  
  
"Oh no!" she squealed. "Julian, the duke—" She opened her door and found Harold talking to Julian. She then quickly slammed it. "JULIAN!"  
  
"What? What is it?" Sam asked.  
  
"HIDE!" she screamed and pushed him underneath her black lace robe.  
  
"Ivy!" Harold barged into her room. "Duke Julian, may I present Mademoiselle Ivy."  
  
"Monsieur," she greeted.  
  
Julian licked his lips. "The pleasure, I'm sure, will be all mine."   
  
"Well, I'll leave you two squirrels to get to know each other better," Harold said and left the room. 

Julian took her hand and kissed it as Sam discreetly moved behind the table. "A kiss on the hand may be quite continental."  
  
"But diamonds are a girl's best friend," she finished and chuckled.  
  
"Some champagne, my dear?" Julian asked and went to the table.  
  
"DON'T!!!" Ivy screamed. Julian looked at her like she was crazy. "…you just love the view?" she asked, gesturing to the window.  
  
Julian smiled. "Charming." He again moved towards the table.  
  
"Oh!" she exclaimed and began dancing around the room. "I feel like dancing!" Julian watched her with bewilderment and Sam even snuck a peek, but hid again before Julian could see him.  
  
"Are you all right?" Julian asked Ivy.  
  
"Yes, it's—it's a bit funny, this feeling…" she started and looked at Sam for help.  
  
'Inside,' he mouthed.  
  
"…inside," she finished. "I—I'm not one of those who can easily…"  
  
'Hide,' Sam mouthed.  
  
"…hide," Ivy said. "I don't have much money, but boy if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live."  
  
"What?" Julian asked as she threw her arms around his knees.  
  
"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words," she sang to him. Coming to his eye level, she finished, "How wonderful life is, now you're in the world."  
  
Julian's eyes sparkled. Zidler was right, he thought. "Beautiful," he told her admiringly.  
  
"It's from Spectacular Spectacular," Ivy said. "Suddenly with you here, I realized the true meaning of those words," she whispered to him and then mouthed, 'GO!' to Sam.  
  
Sam began to move towards the door, but as he opened it, he saw Julian's manservant there and slammed the door.  
  
To mix the noise in, Ivy let out a wail. "No!" she cried out.  
  
"What's wrong?" Julian asked.  
  
"JULIAN! Don't toy with my emotions," she cried. This is where those acting skills come into play, she thought. "You must know the effect that you have on women."  
  
"Well, I—" he began, but she cut him off by pulling him to her.  
  
"Let's make love," Ivy said. "You want to make love, don't you?" She mouthed, 'GET OUT!' to Sam and gestured to the window. "You're right, Julian, we should wait until opening night." She smiled at Sam and he smiled back. She pushed Julian off of her. "But we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now until opening night, so don't worry!" She shoved him towards the door.  
  
"But—" Julian started.  
  
"Thank you so much!" Ivy called back to him and slammed the door in his face. 

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Once again, feedback please!!! 

~*Maggie*~


	4. Spectacular, Spectacular!

Hola

Hola! MR left my local theaters last week :*(, so I spent a lot of time this weekend listening to my soundtrack and praying that my second-run theater gets it. I just finished this literally 5 minutes ago, and it's my fave part of the movie so I'm sure that I screwed it up majorly, lol. But nonetheless, enjoy! 

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"Do you have any idea, ANY idea, what would have happened if you had been caught?" Ivy asked Sam. She tried to draw in another breath, but she couldn't. She fell forward and Sam caught her.  
  
"Ivy?" he asked in her ear. When she didn't respond, he shook her. "Ivy?" He turned her around so that he could lay her down on the bed. To any onlooker, it would have looked like they were dancing or something like that.  
  
And that's exactly what it looked like to Harold. "Let's take a peek," he said to himself. He looked through his telescope in the tower that overlooked the club. When he got a look at Ivy and the other man with her, he smiled. "Perfect."  
  
Back in the elephant, Sam laid Ivy on the bed. Unfortunately, Julian came in just as he had laid her down. "Darling, I forgot my hat—" Julian started. "What the hell is this?" he asked furiously when he saw Sam and Ivy together.  
  
Ivy came to. "Julian!"  
  
"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside??" Julian asked her.  
  
"Beautifully spoken, Julian," she told him. "We were just, um…"  
  
"Rehearsing," Sam saved.  
  
"Yes, rehearsing," Ivy confirmed.  
  
"You expect me to believe that scantily clad, in the arms of another man, you were rehearsing?!" Julian asked incredulously. "What kind of imbecile do you take me for, Ivy?"  
  
"How's the emergency rehearsal going?" Timmy asked as he entered from the back, followed by Hank, Luis and Ethan.  
  
"Hope this piano's in tune," Ethan said, banging on some keys.  
  
"Good evening, sir, how are you?" Luis asked and shook Julian's hand.  
  
In the tower, Harold took another look through his telescope. "Oh no," he said when he saw Timmy and his friends in there. "I better go fix things."  
  
"A rehearsal?" Julian said. "At this hour?"  
  
"Well," Ivy said, "after you left I realized how much work we had to do, so I called everyone in for an emergency rehearsal."  
  
"If you're rehearsing, where's Zidler?" Julian asked.  
  
"He's on his way," Sam explained.  
  
Harold walked in. "Ivy, what's going on?"  
  
"Harold, you're here!" she exclaimed. "Don't worry, Julian knows all about the emergency rehearsal." She emphasized the last two words.  
  
"Emergency rehearsal?" Harold asked her quietly. She nodded to get her point across. "Oh yes, the rehearsal! I'm sure you'll love this, Julian."  
  
"If you're rehearsing, where's Miguel?" Julian asked.  
  
"Yes, chickpea, where is Miguel?" Harold asked.  
  
"Miguel left!" Timmy said.  
  
"Left? Who's writing it now?" Harold asked.  
  
"This man right here…" Ivy stopped, not knowing his name.  
  
'Sam,' Sam mouthed.  
  
"Sam! He will be our writer now," Ivy told them.  
  
Julian nodded warily. "What's the story?"  
  
"The story?" Harold repeated.  
  
"Well, if I'm to invest, I need to know the story," Julian explained.  
  
"It's set in Switzerland!" Timmy said.  
  
"It's about love!" Sam piped up. 

"Love?" Julian said.  
  
"It's about love, overcoming all obstacles," Sam said as he looked Ivy in the eye. Butterflies suddenly came up in her stomach, but she quickly dismissed them.  
  
"And it's set in Switzerland!" Timmy said again.  
  
"India, India, it's set in India!" Sam told Julian, inspired by the décor in the room. "And there's a courtesan, the most beautiful courtesan in the whole world." Once again, Ivy and Sam's eyes locked and sparks flew. The ideas kept coming and he told everyone. "But her kingdom's invaded by an evil Maharajah. And on the night that she's supposed to meet this Maharajah, she mistakes him for a penniless…" he looked around the room, "sitar player! He wasn't trying to trick her or anything," he said and moved towards Ivy.  
  
"And I will play the young, sensitive sitar player," Luis said.  
  
"The sitar is magical," Ethan explained. "It can only speak the truth."  
  
"And Timmy will play the sitar!" Timmy said excitedly. He imitated sitar sounds and went around the room. "You are beautiful," Timmy told Ivy as the sitar, "you are ugly," he told Harold, "and you…" he said, coming to Julian. Ethan, Hank, Sam, Ivy and Harold quickly covered his mouth before he could go any further.  
  
"It will be a festival for the senses," Harold told Julian. "It will be," he suddenly broke into song, "spectacular, spectacular! The words of a vernacular can't describe this great event; you'll be dumb with wonderment; returns are fixed at ten percent; you must agree that's excellent; and on top of your feat, you'll be involved so sweet."  
  
The rest of the group—Sam, Ivy, Ethan, Hank, Timmy and Luis joined Harold as Julian sat down in front of the group. "So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years. So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years."  
  
"Elephants!" Luis sang.  
  
"Bohemians!" Ethan sang.  
  
"Indians!" Timmy sang.  
  
"And courtesans," Ivy added.  
  
"Lock jobs," Hank piped up.  
  
"Juggling bells!" Luis sang.  
  
"Exotic girls!" Timmy added.  
  
"Fire breathers!" Ethan said as Hank blew fire from a stick in front of Julian.  
  
"Puzzles and contortionists, intrigue, danger," everyone sang.  
  
"And romance," Sam joined.  
  
"Electric lights, machinery," everyone sang.  
  
"Full of electricity!" Harold exclaimed.  
  
"So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years; So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years!" everyone sang, dancing in front of Julian. "Spectacular, spectacular! The words of a vernacular can't describe this great event; you'll be dumb with wonderment!"  
  
Julian sat puzzled as they went into, "The hills are alive with the sound of music." The group continued into, "So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years!"  
  
Still puzzled, Julian asked, "Yes, but how does it end?"  
  
The group exchanged glances, then proceeded to run around the room and grab any Indian-looking object of piece of clothing that they could find. Sam let down a curtain from the middle of the room and turned on a small light as the rest of the group went behind the curtain. "The courtesan and sitar man," Sam sang as the curtain went up, "are pulled apart by an evil plan."  
  
"But in the end she hears his song," Ivy sang.  
  
"And their love is just to strong," Sam finished as Ivy glanced back at him. Damn butterflies, she thought.  
  
Julian paused a moment, then sang, "It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside."  
  
The group again broke into, "So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years!"  
  
"The sitar player's secret song helps defeat the evil one," Sam continued as Timmy ran a toy horse over a wall.  
  
"Though the tyrant rants and wails, it is all to no avail," Sam sang.  
  
"I am the evil Maharajah! You will not escape me!" Harold shouted as Hank, Ivy, Timmy, Luis and Ethan pretended to bow to him.  
  
"Oh, Harold, no one could play him like you could!" Ivy complimented.  
  
"Well, I was going to," Harold told her.  
  
"So exciting, will make you laugh and make you cry, so delighting—" they sang.  
  
"And in the end, should someone die?" Julian interrupted.  
  
Once again, the group exchanged glances and went back to the song. "So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer; so delighting, it will run for fifty years!" Running around and dancing around Julian, they finally came to a breathless stop in front of him.  
  
Julian paused, then nodded. "Generally, I like it," he told them as they all cheered and rushed over to him. 

********************


End file.
